DR Congo launches updated 180-day Ebola response plan, seeks 1.3-bln-USD funding

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its partners on Friday launched an updated 180-day multisectoral response plan to intensify efforts against the ongoing Ebola outbreak, with funding needs estimated at 1.3 billion U.S. dollars.



With support from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other partners, the plan was intended to serve as the operational roadmap for the response over the next six months.



According to the WHO Regional Office for Africa, the outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus had reached 6,342 reported cases and 3,072 deaths as of Sept. 2. It has spread to 60 health zones across six provinces.



Health authorities are particularly concerned that a large proportion of deaths continue to occur in communities, often among people who had not previously been identified as contacts and had not reached health facilities before dying.



"Every case detected too late, every contact missed and every delay in mobilizing resources translates into lives lost," Anne Ancia, acting WHO representative in the DRC, said, calling for rapid and coordinated action on a larger scale.